Diana Shcherbenko flashes the thumbs-up sign as she donates another pint of blood.
(Photo Courtesy of Tom Shcherbenko)

STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. - STAPLETON - Eighteen-year-old Diana Shcherbenko has a hard time accepting the old saying that "good things come to those who wait."

"In my opinion, that's just not true. Good things come to those who get out there and make a difference, and go after what they want," declared the energetic Stapleton teen.

She's not shy about practicing what she preaches.

Diana, who just graduated from Bishop Kearney High School in Brooklyn, and is bound for SUNY Binghamton in the fall, has been involved in a number of volunteer activities in the community.

Around the age of 14, her dad, Tom Shcherbenko, started getting her involved with campaigns for local politicians on the North and East shores. "I immediately fell in love with it," Diana reported.

She did canvassing on the telephone and door-to-door. She's volunteered for many campaigns since and is involved with two local political clubs, the Staten Island Democratic Association and the Young Democrats of Richmond County.

Diana has also volunteered with the Mud Lane Society for the Renaissance of Stapleton. Members host a house tour almost every year – a self-guided walking tour on and near St. Paul's Avenue – that showcases several century-old restored Victorian homes along the way. At the end of the walking tour this year, there was a celebration with food and live music. Diana helped set up for the tour and said she enjoyed meeting and greeting guests. She also enjoys going caroling through the neighborhood with the Mud Lane Society at its annual Christmas holiday party.

At school, she spent a week at the Sisters of St. Joseph's convent assisting older nuns in basic cooking and cleaning tasks. She also has volunteered with the Wounded Warriors project through her school, participating in an annual trip to Washington D.C. to visit injured troops at Walter Reed Medical Center. She's helped her classmates collect donations of pajamas, toys and home-baked goods for soldiers and their families staying with them.

Closer to home, Diana is also a Trinity Lutheran Church soup kitchen volunteer. And even though she just turned 18, she's donated more than a half-gallon of blood through the New York Blood Bank.

"I love being involved with everything I can get into and it really makes me happy feeling like I have helped people out," she said.

Diana's been honored twice for her service work. She received the Community Activist Award from "Staten Island 4 a Cure" and is also the recipient of a Lathrope-Voorspuy Memorial Scholarship given to help her develop her volunteer skills while in college.

While she said she's "sincerely grateful" for both awards, she credits her spirit of involvement to her family, including her dad, her mom, Linda, her sister, Gina, 25, and brother, Mike, 23, "who taught me the value of giving rather than receiving."

"I personally wish I could do more. I feel what I do is small-scale, and I hope to one-day volunteer on a much larger scale. For example, I'd love to be organizing blood drives, instead of just being a donor," she said.

Diana will get a chance when she goes off to college. She is eyeing a possible major in psychology or communications.

She also describes herself as an "outdoorsy" person; she's played soccer most of her life and hopes to continue playing in college. She also holds a black belt in karate.

"If I can put a smile on someone's face, whether if it's by carrying a heavy box for someone. or just cracking a joke to make someone laugh, it truly makes me happy."